carrot and split pea soup

A couple of weeks ago, I visited my university’s student-run organic farm. It was something like a 4.3-mile bike ride, uphill almost the whole way, in 90-degree heat. It was challenging for me, but it was so much fun.

There was only one person working that day, and he offered to show us (Patrick and me) around. At the end of seeing everything there, he took us to a giant walk-in fridge inside their building, and inside were boxes upon boxes of harvested vegetables. He showed me a few stacks of boxes from which, he said, I could take whatever I wanted…for FREE. I ended up getting a huge bag of carrots, a shallot, and a bell pepper. This was before I had any idea of how much I could actually make in my rice cooker/slow cooker, so I didn’t want to take too much stuff, in case I would not be able to use it.

The carrots I got were amazing. They were the sweetest carrots I have ever tasted, and I used them to make soup. The soup’s main ingredients are local carrots, local potatoes (from my CSA box back home), and local split peas (from my favorite stand at the farmer’s market). I love using fresh, local ingredients, and I am so glad I was able to prepare them in my dorm.

If you try this recipe or are inspired by it to make something else, I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Here it is:

Carrot and Split Pea Soup:

1 diced shallot

3 cloves minced garlic

4 cups chopped carrots

2 cups chopped potatoes

1 cup dried split peas

8 cups vegetable broth (or 4 cups vegetable broth, 4 cups water)

2 tsp multi-purpose seasoning (I used Bragg Sprinkle Seasoning)

1 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients into slow cooker or rice cooker/multi-cooker, and stir everything together.

For a slow cooker, cook on the “high” setting for 2 1/2 hours. For a rice cooker/multi-cooker, cook on the “slow cook” setting for 2 1/2 hours.

When the soup is done, give it a good mix, and serve with extra pepper.